


that lying prophet was the way we grew

by psybexm



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Brotherly Love, Post-Game(s), Prison, rose goes to prison, this is rated t because peony swears a few times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:41:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24551782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psybexm/pseuds/psybexm
Summary: Peony visits his little brother in prison.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 37





	that lying prophet was the way we grew

**Author's Note:**

> so...... peony, huh. love that guy. he is 1000% related to rose as well. enjoy!
> 
> song title is from "Rats Died" by SymaG.

Contrary to what some may believe, Peony is no fool—such is why he has scheduled a visit to one of Wyndon’s prisons. He can’t say he’s surprised it’s come to this; his brother has always been one for theatrics and grandiose, and yet…

_“Listen, do what you think you’ve gotta do, just don’t get yourself in too much shit, alright? If you end up in the slammer, I swear I’ll kill you.”_

_“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”_

_Evidently, his brother did not, in fact, know what he was doing._

The hallway he is led through is sterile, too sterile. Granted, it is not something he isn’t used to, though it feels almost too clean for prison—as if something will jump out at him from the stiff off-white walls, ready to rip into him and ask _why didn’t you stop him why couldn’t you have talked to him more why why why why why—_

_“So, lemme get this straight. You’re planning on… waking up some dangerous Pokémon to stop this supposed energy crisis?”_

_“Yes. Trust me, it’ll all go well. Everything will run according to plan; don’t worry!”_

_“God, you’d better stick by that. If you fuck up and die, I’m not gonna forgive you for it.”_

And then they’ve stopped—he is the only one visiting, of course, his daughter was too buried in her schoolwork to come, and it’s not like their sister can just fly in from Unova with no prior planning. So, he is alone, though it’s not entirely a feeling he is unused to, and the officers remain positioned outside the door, leaving him to enter the room alone.

And so he does.

Rose looks up when the door opens, and god, if he doesn’t look utterly _exhausted_ —he may be the older of the two of them, but Peony can’t help but feel as though for once, he looks younger than the man seated in front of him. _Orange isn’t his colour at all,_ he thinks dryly to himself; the jumpsuit hangs a tad loose on his brother’s frame— _has he gotten thinner?_

 _No matter now,_ he reminds himself, _talk with the guy first, you’ll have plenty of time for questions._

“Peony,” Rose mutters, voice hoarse—he’s been crying, he can tell, “I wasn’t sure if you would actually show up.”

Peony sighs, sits down across from his brother, who offers him the smallest smile he thinks he’s ever seen from him. _He’s already broken,_ he thinks, _who did this to him?_ In the softest voice he can muster, he speaks to Rose. “What in the hell were you thinking?”

He catches the way Rose flinches at his question—he’s already heard it plenty of times already, no doubt, though he still speaks, albeit reluctantly, quietly, “I wasn’t.”

Rose doesn’t meet his gaze, he notes—downturned green eyes refuse to look anywhere but the table he currently rests his hands on. _Since when has his own brother lacked the confidence to look him in the eye,_ he wonders. He sighs, pinching his brow delicately between his thumb and forefinger, his slight frown deepening just a tad. “Listen, Elijah, I’m not here to give you a lecture. I came to make sure nobody’s tried to _off you_ yet.”

“I kept that half of the promise,” Rose mumbles, digging his own fingernails into the backs of his hands, though they’ve since been bitten down past his own fingertips, “remember? You said if I ‘fucked up and died,’ you’d never forgive me. At least I kept the not dying half, right?”

Peony is momentarily stunned into silence, fumbling over his words briefly as he processes his brother’s. _Is that how he thinks? Does he really think that this is what this all boils down to?_

“For fuck’s sake, Elijah,” he groans, resting his head in the palm of his hand, “I didn’t mean it like _that,_ and you know it. I’m not even all that upset, honestly; nobody _died,_ and you _did_ technically succeed, didn’t you? From what I’ve heard, dens in the Wild Area are overflowing with energy right now. _You_ did that.”

His brother just sighs. _He’s not the same at all, something is horribly wrong._ “I endangered _many_ lives, Peony. Whether I succeeded in my plan or not hardly matters anymore.”

“Don’t give me that shit,” he hisses, slamming both of his hands down on the table in front of him, startling Rose enough to finally meet his gaze, “shut the hell up. If you beat yourself up any more, I might as well do it for you. You _did it,_ whether you wanna admit that to yourself or not. You think mom would wanna hear you talk shit about yourself?”

“Don’t bring mom into this,” Rose sighs, and he holds Peony’s gaze, _finally,_ “perhaps I succeeded, perhaps I did not. Like I said, it’s not like I’ll know the extent of it for a damned _year,_ because I’m _stuck here,_ Peony. Have you forgotten that?”

He wills himself to remain calm, simply sighing through his nose as he clenches his hands into fists on the wooden surface of the table. _Deep breaths, keep calm._ “Right, I obviously _forgot_ you were in here, which is why I came to _visit you._ ”

Much to his surprise, Rose laughs—it’s a far cry from the strong, confident laughter he’s used to hearing from his brother, but he’ll accept it. “No need for sarcasm, I’ve heard enough of it here already.”

Rose twirls his coil of hair around his finger— _christ,_ if he almost wishes he hadn’t shaved his head so he could still do that, “You didn’t need to come here, you know. I’m sure you’re plenty busy as is without me clogging up your time, right?”

“Don’t give me that,” he replies, “I’m your _brother._ Someone’s gotta make sure you haven’t been stabbed by some grimy bastard in here, right? It’s the least I can do.”

“Right,” Rose sighs, “But you shouldn't make it a habit. You’ve got your own things to deal with; visiting me doesn’t need to be one of th—”

“You do realize I’m plannin’ on visiting your as much as I _can,_ right? Make sure you’re still alive and all that, y’know?” Peony interrupts, “I’ve gotta make sure you’re still keepin’up the ‘don’t die’ half of that promise, don’t I?”

Rose rolls his eyes, though he can tell that his brother appreciates it nonetheless. “My _god,_ Peony, you sound like mom.”

“I do _not._ ”

“Yes, you do.”

It’s Peony’s turn to roll his eyes, then, scoffing at his brother in mock offense, “Whatever. I’ll see you as soon as I can, alright? Don’t die in here while I’m gone, promise?”

Rose allows himself a proper smile. “Yes, of course, whatever you say. Promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> peony voice: if you die I swear I'll kill you
> 
> if you enjoyed this, be sure to follow my tumblr @trainerpeony ! thank you so much for reading!


End file.
